Did your entertainment in some way involve livestock — the state fair butter cow, cow tipping or cow chip throwing; watching horses swat flies with their tails or a round of horseshoes? Perhaps you passed the time by painting your name on a water tower, taking in a tractor pull or scraping the dirt from under your fingernails.

That's what happens in Illinois cities outside of Chicago and the suburbs, right?

Springfield can take a joke about how it's perceived outside the area, but sometimes the insults can sting. Republican lieutenant governor candidate Evelyn Sanguinetti is the latest to dismiss Illinois' capital city, this time with an unimaginative rural stereotype suggesting people here lack refinement.

Sanguinetti is an attorney from suburban Wheaton running on a ticket with GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner, a multi-millionaire from suburban Winnetka. Both are self-proclaimed political outsiders who will “shake up Springfield.”

According to a report by the Springfield bureau of Lee Enterprises newspapers during the weekend, Sanguinetti in early 2013 emailed an Illinois Department of Human Rights attorney — reportedly a former law school classmate — in search of a state job.

“With the New Year, I am seeking other employment opportunities. Is anything available in ur (sic) hood (sic),” Sanguinetti wrote.

The colleague responded that there were no openings and that the state was going through a budget-related round of layoffs but suggested she file her resume with the state.

Sanguinetti closed out the email exchange with: “Isn't cow tipping a work requirement in Springfield (LOL)?”

Cow tipping is a legend that suggests a person in search of amusement can sneak up to and push over a cow while it sleeps standing up. Cows don't sleep standing up, though, and the term often is used to mock or disparage rural areas.

A spokesman for the Rauner-Sanguinetti campaign called it nothing more than a “jovial exchange,” then used the opportunity to chide Quinn for spending most of his time in Chicago.

Springfield is painfully aware of the perception among Chicagoans that the capital city is a dirty, boring southern outpost, a place that lawmakers and state employees reluctantly duck into when necessary and speed out of as soon as their work is done.

That Springfield is Illinois' capital city is an annoyance to many of them. Quinn has spent precious little time at the executive mansion; the same was true of his predecessor, Gov. Rod Blagojevich, during his tenure. The local economy has taken a hit from the one-two punch of state jobs being moved to Chicago and an overall reduction in the state workforce. Once-bustling state office buildings are vacant.

Page 2 of 2 - And when it's convenient to do so, those seeking office like to blame corruption and political maneuvering “on Springfield” — disregarding, of course, that a large number of elected state officials live in or work in Chicago or its suburbs, conduct the state's business there and spend time “in Springfield” three days a week at most when the legislature is in session.

Whether Sanguinetti's email was innocent professional networking or an attempt to tap into state government's so-called good old boys' network is anybody's guess. Her email was sent prior to her joining Rauner's campaign as his running mate.

But it is an interesting revelation about one-half of a ticket that has vowed to live in and work in Springfield if elected.

It also prompts questions about the duo's believability as outsider candidates who are well-versed on the needs of the state. Would a reform-minded outsider reach out to an old friend for a state job? Would a candidate who understands Illinois disparage the capital city and its residents with cow-tipping jokes?

Springfield has a lot going for it: a thriving medical district, a bustling tourist economy, beautiful parks, a strong network of historic neighborhoods, a robust performing-arts scene and smart, engaged residents from all walks of life.

Sanguinetti is scheduled to be here later this week for campaign-related events and for Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair (where there are no cow-tipping events). While she's visiting, we urge her to take a drive and look around. She might be surprised by what she sees — and doesn't see.